Montana dispensary files lawsuit over Missoula license dispute

A Montana dispensary alleges it was swindled out of a permit to operate a Missoula location in 2025 and called for the city to remedy the dispute, according to a lawsuit filed in Missoula County District Court earlier this month.

Cannabis company Grizzly Pine LLC and the property owner of a former dispensary location are jointly suing two dispensaries and a cannabis consulting company over the dispute.

The lawsuit alleges that Grizzly Pine was seeking a city permit from a previously closed cannabis business to operate in Missoula. After signing a lease to open a new location, the company alleged the permit it was promised was transferred to a different dispensary.

The City of Missoula has a moratorium on approving new dispensary licenses, called "420" licenses, but has previously allowed licenses to transfer between existing companies that use the same location.

The plaintiffs jointly sued cannabis company Remedy Medicinals, who secured the new permit, Davis Family Farms, who relinquished the permit when it closed in 2025, Libertas Green Montana, the middle man in the deal, and the City of Missoula, who the plaintiffs argue have refused to transfer the permit or issue a new permit to Grizzly Pine.

"The lease agreement contemplates that Grizzly Pine would operate a cannabis dispensary at the location," the lawsuit reads. "Remedy, a stranger to the title, willfully refuses to relinquish the location's 420 license so that the tenant, Grizzly Pine, can operate its dispensary, thwarting the purpose of the lease."

Christie Shelton, the owner of Remedy Medicinals, told the Missoulian in a phone call Tuesday evening that she followed all city rules in securing the permit, noting that she acquired the assets of the previous business.

The location in question is next to the Silver Slipper Casino on Brooks Street on the edge of the city. Davis Family Farms operated in the location before it closed in 2025, according to the lawsuit.

Grizzly Pine, which operates six dispensaries in Montana cities like Bozeman, Hamilton and Whitefish, said in the lawsuit it sought Davis's permit through Libertas Green Montana.

While Grizzly Pine was securing a lease with property owner Preslyn LLC, Davis Family Farms allegedly transferred the permit to Remedy Medicinals, a dispensary based in Missoula.

The city issued the license to Remedy in December 2025, several weeks after Grizzly Pine signed a lease for the new location. The lawsuit alleges the city disregarded its rules when approving the transfer from Davis Family Farms to Remedy.

"By all accounts, the city appears to have rubber stamped Remedy's application without verifying any of the information required by its own zoning ordinances," the lawsuit reads.

Grizzly Pine said it has since purchased two additional 420 licenses, but one is tied to a different location the company said it does not want to operate from, and the other license was rejected by the city per a moratorium for new licenses.

Shelton said her company purchased the license with the intent of opening a new location in south Missoula, but after a proposed rent increase by the property owner, they stepped away from the expansion.

She said Grizzly Pine stepped in to secure the lease, but not before she secured the permit, which she said her company will not give up.

"I am not going to be harassed to get this license," Shelton said in the phone call.

Missoula has one of the highest number of dispensaries per capita in Montana and the United States, sitting at approximately 50 businesses per 80,000 residents, the Missoulian previously reported.

The Missoula City Council approved a two-year moratorium for new dispensary locations in July 2024, and in February of this year passed a new zoning policy that enacted several buffer restrictions for new stores. Similarly, the state has a moratorium for new cannabis companies.

Shelton questioned the timing of the lawsuit, as the city's restrictions on new licenses will lift in August, which she argues means that Grizzly Pine will be able to open its new location.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial on counts related to negligence, fraud, civil conspiracy, breach of contract and a violation of due process rights, and to also allow Grizzly Pine to open its proposed Missoula location.

City Attorney for Civil Services Ryan Sudbury told the Missoulian in a Friday email that the city disputes the factual and legal allegations in the lawsuit and is prepare to defend the case in court.

Contact information for Libertas Green could not be immediately located.

Missoula District Court Judge Tara Elliott is presiding over the case, and has yet to set a hearing date for the dispute.